, 1887-08-04
WASHINGTON NOTES.
LAND GRANT.

LAND GRANT.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2.-Commis-
sioner Sparks has completed
the adjustment of the grant to
the state of Wisconsin by acts of
June Sd, 1886, and May 9th, 1864, to
aid in the construction of what is
known us the Chicago, st. Paul, Min
neapolis & Omaha railroad. The
commissioner finds the area of the
grant after the deduction of the guam
tty excluded from the operations of
the grant of reservations under prior
grants, ETC., to be G54,217 acres. OF
this amount 49S sos acres have al
ready been approved, 421 ,224 acres
are vacant and subject to selection
which added to the 3O,G2S acres, the
amount of indemnity heretofore
approved leaves S2,SO5 acres as
amount of indemnity due. The rail-
way company has made indemnity
selections to the amount of PIT ,279
acres on account of the main line,
thus according to the commissioner
figures an excess Of 1914 ,579 acres have
been selected. The commissioners says
of the lands selected about 10000
acres are within the granted limits of
the grant to the Northern Pacific road
and are therefore not subject to selec-
ton by the Omaha company as indem
nifty. AS to the remainder, amount
ing to about 154 ,159 acres, the COM
missioner recommends that selections
be cancelled and lands restored to the
public domain. In this adjustment
the commissioner ignores branch lines
as having no grant to adjust.
AIRED HOT PROTEST.
At meeting of citizens OF the
District of Columbia held tonight, res
olutions were adopted calling upon the
president to remove the commissioners
Of the district. After reciting in a
preamble that it has been shown that
great irregularities, abuse of power and
misappropriation of public money ex-
lists in the management of our district
government, the resolutions urge
that it is time for the removal OF the
commissioners for the following,
among other reasons: Because they
have betrayed the trust imposed on
them by refusing to make public ad-
mitted defalcations in the water de-
partment; because they have imposed
upon congress by making fraudu-
lent estimates for new water
mains because they have clouded the
titles of II large amo1nt of real estate
by manufacturing and charging up
against bogus water main assessments
in order to make more favorable
showing OF the long defrauded water
fund; and because they have used
public funds for private purposes as
shown by vouchers on file in the
United States treasury. A committee
was appointed to present the resolu-
tions to the president. At meeting of
the committee of one numbered in the
District of Columbia, consist
ing of representative citizens chosen
to look after the city's welfare resolu-
tions were adopted calling on the
president to cause a thorough investi,
CATION to be instituted into the affairs
of the water department from 1871 to
the present time with view to ascer-
tain all facts connected with the re-
ported defalcations in the watpr
bureau. They also urge that the en-
gineer officer, at present in charge of
the water department be removed and
that Gen. Meigs or Col. Casey be de-
tailed to take charge OF the work.
HOT SPRINGS RESERVATION.
Charles w. Field, superintendent OF
the Hot Springs reservation in Arkan-
sas, in his annual report to the secre-
tary of the interior, states that satisfac-
tory progress has been made during the
year in the matter of improvement,
and visitors to the Springs during the
last year was largely in excess of the
year before. Field has great and in
creasing faith in the curative properties
OF the water, and renews his
recommendation of last year,
that congress be asked to
appropriate $31 900 to build two ad-
ditional reservoirs with necessary
equipments for saving and distrbut-
ing the large quantities of water now
going to waste. He also asks an APP
preparation of $4,000 with which to re-
place the old bath house with another
larger and better for pools and rooms.